That's x Shanghai Girl Eats: Maison Asano

An exclusive collaboration with the city's foremost (some say pickiest) food blogger, That's x Shanghai Girl Eats brings you monthly reviews of new, and not-so-new restaurants. 

Maison Asano

I don’t get to eat as much sushi as I would like to in Shanghai primarily because the quality just isn’t there. And the few places that are good – they are expensive. Maison Asano is one of those places. They get all their fish flown in from Japan – cost is high, price is high. So just once in awhile, I suck it up, empty my wallet and fill my belly with some really expensive fish.

ABOVE: Fresh tuna from fatty to lean. The lighter the more fatty, and the darker the more lean.

Maison Asano serves two types of sets: omakase and sukiyaki. RMB888 or RMB1,380 gets you an omakase set, which is a series of assorted sushi, sashimi, and small dishes hot and cold based on the chef’s choice and ingredients available for the day. 

You must make a reservation at least one day ahead of time at Maison Asano. Real talk, while most people aren’t lining up to pay nearly a grand per person for a meal, the reservation rule is mostly to help Chef Liam plan how many people to expect and prepare ingredients accordingly. I usually like to sit at the bar and ignore my dinner companions and watch Chef Liam prepare the food he is going to feed me with. If you like to be more social, there are normal tables and a private room available if you actually want to talk to your friends.

Omakase set (RMB888 or RMB1,380 per person; RMB888 shown below)

Recommend: yes

Omakase means “I leave to you,” which in this case is Chef Liam so you can tell him any allergies, likes, and dislikes. I usually have just one request that I put in ahead of time – while some people like to have a mix of sushi, sashimi, and other dishes, I ask for mainly raw fish (sashimi and sushi). So what you will see in this post is less cooked dishes and more sashimi and sushi than the usual balance. 

Appetizers to begin:

Ankimo (monkfish liver) mousse

Steamed conch (sea snail) 

Grilled mullet roe

Followed by sashimi (freshly sliced raw fish, no rice) courses:

Nagasaki hirame (olive flounder)

Hokkaido kinmedai (alfonsino/golden eyed snapper)

Hokkaido amaebi (sweet shrimp)

Hokkaido hotate (scallop)

Hokkaido mizu-tako (water octopus)

Hokkaido tsubugai (whelk)

Nagasaki saba (mackerel)

Kyushu otoro (bluefin fatty tuna belly) – just melts on the tongue.

French Gillardeau oyster

Moving onto the final nigiri-zushi courses (hand-pressed fish with rice):

Hokkaido botan ebi (botan shrimp)

Nagasaki akami (lean bluefin tuna)

Hokkaido aka uni (red sea urchin)

Kyushu otoro (bluefin fatty tuna belly) with marinated melon – my favorite piece of the meal. The marinated melon elevates the fatty tuna flavor to a new dimension. 

Kohada (gizzard shad)

Hokkaido anago (saltwater eel)

Wagyu uni don (beef and sea urchin rice bowl) is the most bomb combination. The Wagyu beef is slightly torched and topped with sea urchin – incredible.

Miso shiru (blended red and white miso oriental clam soup)

Handmade sakura ice cream (cherry blossom) 

// See a listing for Maison Asano here. 

// To see Shanghai Girl Eats' website, click here. For more of her collaborations with That's Shanghai, click here.